1. What action is the Welsh Government taking to improve healthcare services for residents in Conwy and Denbighshire? OQ61178

Thank you for the question. Llywydd, as this is the first health question I'll answer, and the first opportunity to do so on the record following yesterday's infected blood scandal, can I just place on record my own direct response, as this will definitely affect constituents not just in Conwy and Denbighshire, but across the country? The extraordinary scale of the hurt and the cover-up that the infected blood inquiry report revealed was truly shocking. It's a decades-long cover-up that has affected Governments of all shades, and our national health service, and every Member in this Chamber will have constituents affected.

I will come to the question.

I, in particular, want to pay tribute to those who campaigned on this issue, across parties, and not just Julie Morgan in different Parliaments, but the people directly affected themselves, and to give a direct and unequivocal apology on behalf of the Welsh Government, and to indicate that a debate will take place on 4 June. 

Directly on other services in Conwy and Denbighshire, we will work closely with the health board to improve access to safe and timely care and to high-quality services.

Thank you for that response—

Can I just intervene? That was an inappropriate use of question 1. I would have expected, if the Government was to make a statement, and the First Minister wished to do so, any request to me to make a statement on this very important issue would have been accepted today, and I'm sure the Business Committee would have accepted it in a similar vein. I'll ask Darren Millar to continue with his supplementary question.

Thank you, Llywydd. First Minister, healthcare services in Conwy and Denbighshire are not in a good place. We know that the health board in north Wales is in special measures. One of the problems that I have in my own constituency is the problem of the Colwyn Bay West End Medical Centre. It's a managed practice, run directly by the health board, and I receive multiple complaints about the services from that particular surgery each and every week. In fact, 100 per cent of the complaints that I have received about GP services since the start of this year have been about this one individual practice in my constituency. Patients are complaining about not being able to get appointments, not being able to get through on the telephone, not getting answers to e-mails, not getting call-backs that they're promised, not being able to access vaccinations that are available in other surgeries, and not being able to get prescriptions in time and actually running out of the essential medication that they need. It's not good enough. It's putting patients at risk of harm. This health board is in special measures, as I said earlier on, and this practice is run directly by the health board. What action are you and what action is the Welsh Government going to take in order to resolve these problems, so that my constituents get the services they deserve?

Thank you for the question. I'm aware that the West End practice is a merger, I understand, of previous practices that were not able to function successfully. My understanding is that this is a directly managed practice that has been recruiting for new staff to come in, including doctors as well. I'll happily talk both with the Cabinet Secretary, but also with the health board, to ensure there's a direct note for the Member on what is taking place. It may be helpful if not just for the list of issues he's raised now, but to be clear about any particular issues he wants to have raised and to ensure they're covered in a response from the health board, because I do take seriously, in this or any other practice, that residents are able to access high-quality care and services, and, where that is not the case, that we're aware of it so we can do something about it. I'm sure the Member will take up opportunities to speak directly to the health board themselves, as well as those directly running the practice.